Italian Marinated Grilled Chicken with Zucchini

Making a marinade that doubles as a dressing is one of my tricks for making easy midweek meals. Like this chicken which uses the same base mixture for the marinade as well as drizzling over the zucchini!

Hands up who loves Italian flavours! I was going to say “hands up who loves Italian food!” but I have no idea if this is authentic and I was sure someone would write in to inform me that it isn’t! 🙂

So there is no way I’m declaring this to be authentic but the ingredients in the marinade really drive home the Italian-esque flavours of this chicken. And it’s simple which Italian food often is, because it’s about quality ingredients simply prepared to create amazing food.

Did you know that most salad dressings also make great marinades? Not creamy ones. But thinner ones, like vinaigrettes, make fantastic marinades. This chicken is marinated in what is essentially a salad dressing. I use most for the chicken, then the remainder for the zucchini side salad.

Saves TIME with compromising on FLAVOR!

I’m really into grilling at the moment which is weird because it’s the middle of winter in Sydney. Though mind you, winter here is 18C/64F with clear blue skies and no biting winds. Hard, hard life we lead here!

The real reason I’ve started grilling more is because I am so sick of washing up. I don’t have a dishwasher. Have I told you that before? I don’t! I know it sounds ridiculous, but the layout of the kitchen is weird (and small). So it’s either a dishwasher or storage, and I choose storage. 🙂

Plus, I love the charcoal flavours.

Plus, grilling lets me pretend it’s still summer.

Doesn’t this simple, scrumptious, fast dinner just scream of summer to you?

– Nagi x

PS I know I’ve repeatedly dribbled on about grilling but it goes without saying that this is super yum made on the stove too!

A chicken marinated in yummy Italian flavours which also doubles as the dressing for the zucchini! That's a little trick for making your midweek meals just that little bit easier. Finely slicing zucchinis with a mandolin (or knife) transforms them into a beautiful delicate flavoured side salad. If you don't like zucchinis, you can use whatever vegetables you prefer!

Place the Dressing Marinade ingredients in a small jar and shake well to combine.

Put the Marinated Chicken ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and add 5 tablespoons of the Dressing Marinade. Massage / mix to coat the chicken. Set aside for marinade for at least 20 minutes, ideally 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Add the 1 tablespoon of olive oil (from the Zucchini Side ingredients) into the jar with the remaining Dressing Marinade and shake well. Set aside.

Grill/BBQ: You shouldn't need any oil, but if you are concerned, brush your grill with oil. Heat the grill on medium high and cook the chicken for around 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Stove: Preheat ½ tbsp oil in a large non stick fry pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook each side for around 4 to 5 minutes, or until dark golden brown and cooked through.

When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the grill/fry pan onto a plate, loosely cover with foil and set aside for 10 minutes.

Toss the zucchinis and mint with the Dressing Marinade.

Serve the chicken with the zucchini salad and toasted bread.

Notes

1. You can substitute with chardonnay or apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice. Or even rice vinegar! You just need a vinegar that is not as harsh as ordinary white vinegar.

2. This can be made with breast fillets too, but just be careful with the cooking time as you don't want to overcook it. Dry chicken breast is not pleasant!

Related

Comments

Only made the chicken because didn’t have any zucchini. But the chicken was good. I marinated it for three hours which was not enough. There was not that much mustard flavor to it. Served with green peas and sauerkraut salad.

I cooked this chicken feeling very sceptical about the marinade but I shouldn’t of worried as it turned out beautiful.
The dressing is fabulous and great for the zuchini salad.
I have never seen my husband eat zuchini but when he tried this recipe he actually went back for more.
I did this with your gnocci recipe which took me a while as my dough was quite sticky so I did have to add more flour,
but in the end it all turned out yummy, maybe not as pretty but still yummy.
Thank you for all your recipes as they taste great and are quite easy. Your’s is the best site ever. Thank you again.

Oh wow Anna, I LOVE hearing that!! (Especially the part about your zucchini-hating hubby going back for more!!)

You know, gnocchi is not the prettiest food in the world, full stop. but as you say, yummy! I’m glad you persevered because the stickiness of the dough does vary depending on weather, flour brand etc. I’m constantly adding more flour/water to get the consistency right, an exact formula that works for everyone is near impossible! And thank you for your kind words, so glad you are enjoying my recipes!! N x

I Nagi! The thighs came out great! I wrapped that extra “flap” over the bottom and secured it with a toothpick. I used four large thighs (about 2-1/2 pounds) which was just right for the amount of seasoning – if doing more the seasoning would obviously have to be increased. The spice level was perfect! I baked them at 300 for 30 minutes and then upped the temp to 400 for another 30 minutes. We are not big on ranch sauce, so I used honey mustard for the dipper (blue cheese would also be very good). They came out crispy and crunchy and SO juicy! Served them with David’s (of Spiced) BLT pasta salad. I will definitely be doing them again! In my humble opinion I think they would be a great post! 🙂

Hi Dorothy!! I’m SO GLAD you loved it!! OK, you’ve convinced me! Can you let me know when it’s baking weather over there? 😉 I have so many readers telling me it’s so hot they refuse to turn the oven on so I’m staying away from baking recipes for a while!!! N x THANK YOU for your wonderful feedback! I’ll incorporate this into the post!!

Hi Nagi! Here in the South 95% of the homes have air and, trust me, they are using it! Even when I didn’t have air in MI I still baked – ya gotta eat! Plus I would bake on my gas grill – the time I baked lasagna on the grill my son said it was the best I’d ever made! I’m one of those people who eat chili in the middle of summer – if I’m hungry for it, no matter what the weather, I make it! Guess that makes me a glutton for punishment…. 🙂